HUE HD Pro Camera FAQs

FAQs: HUE HD Pro Camera

At this time, we don’t offer any support for using HUE on Android devices such as smartphones, tablets or Android-powered projectors. The reason is that the Android operating system doesn’t currently fully support connecting to UVC compatible cameras such as HUE, which makes it much more difficult to set the camera up. We will continue to monitor the situation in case things change in a future version of the Android software.

While we can’t offer advice directly, there are a few third party applications such as the USB Camera app by Infinitegra which claim to be able to support USB cameras. If you already have a HUE camera, downloading the free version of the app and testing it with your Android device may be a viable solution.

If your camera is not recognized automatically, try connecting it to a different USB port. We recommend directly connecting it to a USB port on your computer, not through a USB hub. If you are using the camera with its base station, please make sure that the neck is firmly pushed into the base and making the connection.

If the camera is plugged into one of the ports in the front try one of the ports in the rear of the computer, or vice versa.

If you are using Windows XP, please check that you have Service Pack 2 or later installed as this is required for Windows to properly detect plug and play cameras. Service Pack 2 is a free stability update available through the Windows Update tool.

The HUE HD Pro camera is a plug and play device which doesn’t come with any additional drivers, therefore digital zooming using software interpolation isn’t possible without installing third party software. Instead, you can simply use the camera’s flexible neck to move the lens closer and turn the colored focusing ring to sharpen the image.

So long as there’s enough light, it’s possible to capture live video and stills from a very short distance at full resolution.

We have had feedback from many educators who are using HUE as a document camera in their classrooms with great success. Because the camera is ‘plug and play’ and relatively compact, it is perfect for use alongside smartboards and interactive whiteboards to show documents, science experiments or artwork to the class. The software which comes with HUE will display a live video image on your screen which you can then project through the computer as normal.

Our HUE Intuition software (sold separately or bundled with the HUE HD Pro) has a document camera mode included to let you annotate the live video.

HUE works with a wide range of video conferencing and picture editing software. Any software that is designed to work with a USB camera should work using HUE as its video input source, from Google Hangouts to FaceTime to Skype™.

It will also work with software intended for video chat, visualisation or simply recording real time videos. Pick which video chat network you wish to join, download the software from their website and follow their setup instructions. Make sure you set the USB camera as your camera and microphone in the new program’s settings, then you’re ready to chat!

The light on the back of the camera head will only be illuminated when the camera is streaming video.

If it isn’t lighting up, fully quit the camera software you’re using so that it does not show up in your Dock or Taskbar. Then try opening it again, making sure that the camera isn’t in use in any other applications which might be running in the background. USB cameras will only work in one application at a time, and sometimes even web browsers can reserve the video stream with certain plugins installed.

Please also make sure that the camera is directly connected to your computer, not to a USB hub or through a port in the keyboard. If you change the USB port the camera is connected to, please make sure that the software is fully quit as above and then reopen it after reconnecting the device.

HUE Intuition users don’t need to close the software. Simply changing to another tab and then back again will reset the camera connection.

Check with your computer’s manufacturer and make sure you are running the most up to date version of the SigmaTel drivers. You should be able to download the newest version from your computer or motherboard manufacturer directly. If the most recent ones still do not work, uninstalling and reinstalling the existing drivers then disconnecting, uninstalling and reinstalling the camera might fix the problem.

If you have a control panel in your computer settings called Sigma Tel, please check that it is set to “allow reconfiguration pop-ups”. You can then try disconnecting the camera and uninstalling/reinstalling that; if the sound card is struggling with anything it should pop up a window asking you to confirm how the microphone is connected.

Finally you can try going to Control Panel, then System, then Hardware, then Device Manager. Under the Sound category please right click and uninstall any sound card drivers then restart your computer. Windows should automatically reinstall the drivers or you can go through your computer manufacturer’s website to get the latest versions.

For further support with this issue please speak to your computer manufacturer.

This problem is usually caused by Skype overcompensating for what it believes to be loud background noise levels. Go into Skype’s Tools menu, then to Options… and select the Audio Settings tab. First, check that the HUE camera is selected as the microphone, and then uncheck the box below marked, “Let Skype adjust my audio settings”. Initially it is best to set the volume slider a little less than halfway along the bar. You can adjust this later to suit your preferences.

Remember to save your settings before closing the window. The sound levels should now remain steady when you’re making calls.

You will need to install some video chat software. Please find out which network your friends are using such as Skype™ (Windows/Mac), AIM® (Windows only), FaceTime (Mac only), Google Hangouts (Windows/Mac) or Yahoo!® Messenger (Windows/Mac). Download the corresponding software from the network’s website and follow their setup instructions. Make sure you set HUE as both your camera and microphone in the new program’s settings. Additional help on using a specific network can be found on each company’s website.

Please try a different USB port. We recommend directly connecting USB cameras to a USB port on your computer, not through a USB hub.

If you are using HUE with its base, please make sure that the neck is firmly pushed into the base and making the connection.

As HUE cameras are plug and play, it’s normal for nothing to pop up when you connect the camera to your computer. You may need to install some video chat software if you don’t have any applications which work with a camera.

In low light situations the frame rate of the capture will drop which will make the video appear choppier. To obtain the highest possible frame rate, use HUE in a well lit area where the light source is behind the camera and out of the picture.

Using a USB 1.1 connection or USB hub/extension can also lead to lower frame rates. For best results the camera should be connected directly to a USB 2.0 port on the computer.

In some cases, using a shorter USB cable will help improve the connection. If you are using HUE with a different USB cable, please try the one which came inside your box.

To use HUE as a microphone, you will need to select it as the microphone in your chosen chat software’s audio preferences screen. The microphone is built into the camera and it can either be used with the video, or independently. If you don’t want to record sound you can disable the microphone in your audio settings at any time.

You can also set the camera as your default system microphone.

Windows: For Windows XP users this option is in Control Panel, Sound, then under the Voice tab. Make sure that HUE is selected as the Default Device and if necessary click the Volume button to adjust its settings. For Windows Vista, 7, 8 and 10 users the options are in Control Panel, Sound, then the Recording tab. Make sure that HUE is ticked as the Default Device and if necessary click Properties to adjust its volume and boost settings. Remember to save any changes with OK.

Mac OS X: Go to System Preferences, then the Sound pane, then the Input tab. Make sure that the camera is selected in the list and the input volume is set high enough.

So long as the Mac being used meets Apple’s guidelines for running Photo Booth you should be able to use it with HUE. After following the installation process your Mac should automatically detect HUE in Photo Booth if it has no internal camera of its own. If it selects a built-in iSight camera instead, simply use the Camera menu to select the correct device.

If the camera doesn’t seem to be available, please try disconnecting your HUE and reconnecting it once Photo Booth is already running.

If your Mac has a built-in camera already and you’re using an older version of Photo Booth without a Camera menu, Photo Booth will sometimes default to using the built-in webcam. As there is no way to change settings in older versions of Photo Booth this initially makes it difficult to use with external cameras. If you aren’t able to update to a newer version of OS X, one simple way to pick HUE instead of the built-in camera is to first open WebCam Monitor or another camera application and pick the Mac’s internal iSight camera in its Video Settings. This will prevent Photo Booth being able to use the same device. When you start up Photo Booth it will automatically select HUE and work as expected.

So long as the Mac meets Apple’s minimum requirements and runs OS X 10.4.3 (Tiger) or later, it should work with HUE. For our software products please carefully check the individual system requirements for the list of supported operating systems.

Please note that HUE requires a direct connection to the computer, without going through a USB hub.

Your HUE camera is a plug and play device, so there are no additional drivers to install. Simply connect the camera to your computer and open your camera software to begin using HUE.

The HUE HD Pro Camera comes with an application called HUE Intuition which can be installed if you don’t already have your own camera management software.

If you have a HUE HD Camera, you can either purchase HUE Intuition or use the basic AMCap software for Windows to view your video stream. Mac users can use QuickTime to access the camera without installing any additional software.

Yes. The HUE HD Pro camera has been screened in accordance with RoHS Directive (2011/65/EU) and undergone EMC (Electromagnetic Compatibility) testing pursuant to EMC Directive 2004/108/EC, meeting the requirements of EN55022: 2010 and EN55024: 2010.
Note: For the EN55024 electrostatic discharge (ESD) test, it was found that manually disconnecting and reconnecting the camera to power it off/on was needed to resume normal operation as intended after the test.

Activating HUE Intuition requires an activation code. This will be attached to the leaflet inside your HUE HD Pro Camera box. If you purchased HUE Intuition as a digital download, look for the license key in your purchase confirmation email.

The first time you launch HUE Intuition you’ll be asked to enter your activation code and an email address you want to associate it with. This will permanently convert your activation code into a license key. Please keep your activation details safe in case you need to contact us about your software in future.

Due to a change to the installation process, if you previously installed Windows version 1.7.1.3 or earlier you will need to uninstall it from your Control Panel first before updating to version 1.7.1.5 or later.

Due to significant changes in later versions of macOS, future automatic updates to HUE Intuition will be provided for Mac OS X 10.9 and later only. Users with older operating systems can install HUE Intuition from the links above. While there will not be further software updates for these platforms, we will continue to provide users with full technical support.

Once you have installed HUE Intuition for the first time you will be able to download future updates using the auto update feature within the software.

Please note that you will need to activate the software the first time you launch it. If you do not have an activation code, please contact us with your order details for assistance.

Our cameras use manual focus, which means you have to turn the ring around the camera’s lens until the picture is sharp. This means that if you move the camera closer or farther away, the picture may become blurry until you turn the ring again to bring the image back into focus.

If you’d like to know more about manual focus and why we’ve chosen to use it for all of our cameras, please read this blog post on the subject.

HUE hardware will work on Linux systems so long as UVC camera support has been installed. This comes as standard in the current version of Ubuntu and most other distributions. For more information about the Linux UVC driver project please visit this official website. Please note that we do not offer any viewing software for Linux.

There are currently no plans for a Linux version of HUE Animation or HUE Intuition.

Please ensure that you have Windows XP Service Pack 2 (or later) installed. This is a free major update from Microsoft which should be available in Windows Update as an optional item. Service Pack 2 (or later) is required if you want to use USB cameras on Windows XP.

If you purchased a HUE HD Pro camera with a copy of HUE Intuition, check the back cover of the booklet in your HUE HD Pro box for your activation code. The booklet also includes a full step-by-step guide to help you get started with the software.

Note: If you have an older pack, check the back of your CD sleeve or paper insert for the sticker with your unique activation code. If it’s missing please contact us with your order details so that we can assist.

An update to Windows 10 released in April 2018 added new Privacy options to the computer’s system Settings. If these are configured incorrectly it is possible that they will block any applications from accessing cameras. Both internal webcams and USB cameras such as HUE are affected by these settings. If you updated from an earlier version of Windows 10, you may have been asked to choose your settings immediately after the update was installed. It is important that these settings allow camera and microphone access, otherwise the software will be unable to connect to the camera and microphone.

If you want to unblock the camera, press the Start button and open the Settings screen, or alternatively press Windows Key + I. You will see an option called Privacy in the list.

There will be sections on this page for your Camera and Microphone settings. Please ensure that the applications you want to use with your HUE have full access to both the camera and the microphone.

For Microsoft’s help page about the new camera settings, please click here. You can learn more about their privacy settings in this Microsoft FAQ.

Another common cause of video not appearing in this way is third party security software. This separate FAQ includes advice if you believe that this may be the problem.

Following the October 2018 update for Windows 10 (and Windows 8.1), some users may experience problems using their HUE camera hardware in Microsoft’s Camera application and the Chrome browser. The camera will work at first and then become unavailable after some time has elapsed.

If you are experiencing this problem with your HUE HD Pro Camera, or a new HUE HD Camera with no numbers printed on the silver focusing ring, please follow the steps below. You do not need to follow these steps if your camera is working normally and not exhibiting the problem.

1. Ensure that your HUE camera is connected to the computer by USB, and that it isn’t open in any software. The activity light on the camera head should be off.

3. Right-click the HUE Camera Updater.zip file and Extract it to your computer. Windows will prompt you to choose a location for the extracted files.

4. Open the extracted files and double click HUE Camera Updater.exe.

You will see a progress bar, as shown in the picture below.

Note: Do not disconnect the camera, reopen your video software or switch off the computer during the update. If the update is interrupted, the process will have to be repeated from step 4.

5. Once you see the message below, the update is complete. You can close the HUE Camera Updater window.

The next time you launch the Camera application or Google Chrome, the camera should work as normal again, without interruption.

Note: If the problem is not resolved with the update, you may have an older camera. Please download this older version of the HUE Camera Updater tool and repeat the steps above to apply the alternate update for older models.